Leicester Faingaʻanuku: named after a Tongan win, now the All Blacks' hybrid

On 10 October 1999, at the Rugby World Cup, Tonga beat Italy 28-25 at Welford Road in Leicester. One of the Tongan props that night was Taʻu Faingaʻanuku. The next day, back in Nuku'alofa, his son was born, and he was named after the city: Leicester Ofa Ki Wales Twickenham Faingaʻanuku. Twenty-seven years later Leicester Faingaʻanuku has 12 Tests for the All Blacks, a World Cup hat-trick and two Super Rugby final wins with the Crusaders, and he is on the northern tour listed as a loose forward, a back who has become what he calls a "hybrid". He is working his way back from a broken leg and a concussion, and is expected to be considered for the Test against Wales.

The name

"My name started with my old man," Faingaʻanuku told 1News in 2021. His father played 12 Tests at prop for Tonga between 1999 and 2001, including all of Tonga's games at the 1999 World Cup. The Italy match, Faingaʻanuku said, was won by a drop goal, "and I think they were partying hard". According to Wikipedia, which cites a 2022 Stuff interview, Wales was added to the name for the tournament hosts and Twickenham for the ground where Tonga were due to play next.

Rugby runs through the family. His older brother, Tima Faingaʻanuku, has also played for Tonga, and the two would later play together for Tasman.

From South Auckland to Nelson

The family moved to New Zealand in the early 2000s looking for a better life, and his father played some rugby for Counties Manukau. Faingaʻanuku started out in rugby league in South Auckland, before the family moved to Nelson for his father's work.

He began in junior rugby as a loose forward. His First XV coach, he told RNZ in October 2026, "thought I had a little bit of pace so chucked me in the backline". At Nelson College he was, in the NZ Rugby Museum's words, a "1st XV standout", and Wikipedia records that he captained the side. In 2017 he won the Phillip McDonald Memorial Medal as the most valuable player of the UC Championship secondary schools competition. He represented New Zealand Secondary Schools, the Junior Crusaders and the Crusaders Development XV.

Becoming an All Black was not the dream that drove him. "It was always a weird feeling for myself," he said of team-mates who talked about the black jersey. All he knew, he said, was that "my goal in life was to give back to my family".

Tasman

Faingaʻanuku made his Tasman debut in 2018, off the bench against Otago at Forsyth Barr Stadium, in a 47-21 win. In 2019 he scored seven tries and started on the left wing in the Mitre 10 Cup final as Tasman beat Wellington 31-14 at Trafalgar Park in Nelson for their first national title. In 2020 he scored in the semi-final and started the final at Eden Park, where Tasman beat Auckland 13-12 to go back-to-back, with his brother Tima coming off the bench. In 2021 Tasman reached a third straight final, losing 23-20 to Waikato.

Along the way he played for the New Zealand Under 20 side in 2018 and 2019, came off the bench for the South Island in the 2020 North v South match, and started on the wing for Moana Pasifika in a historic one-off match against the Maori All Blacks in Hamilton in December 2020.

The Crusaders

The Crusaders signed him on a three-year contract from 2019, and he made his debut off the bench against the Brumbies that season. It was his only game that season, which ended in a third straight title. "They create good people before good rugby players," he said in 2021.

By 2022 he was a regular starter on the left wing. He scored 10 tries, level with Sevu Reece and Will Jordan as the club's top try-scorer, and started the final at Eden Park, where the Crusaders beat the Blues 21-7. In 2023 he was the competition's leading try-scorer with 13, passed 50 games for the club and started the final again as the Crusaders beat the Chiefs 25-20 in Hamilton for a seventh straight title. In his first spell at the club, the Crusaders never lost a final.

World Cup winger

Ian Foster called him into the All Blacks for the 2022 series against Ireland, and on 2 July 2022 he started on the left wing at Eden Park and became All Black No 1200 in a 42-19 win. He started again in Dunedin a week later, when Ireland won 23-12.

He was back on the left wing for the 23-20 Bledisloe Cup win in Dunedin in August 2023 and was named in the World Cup squad. He came off the bench in the opening loss to France in Paris, then scored his first Test try in the 71-3 win over Namibia in Toulouse. On 5 October in Lyon he scored a hat-trick in a 73-0 win over Uruguay, and nine days later he started the quarter-final against Ireland at the Stade de France and scored in a 28-24 win. He was not used in the semi-final or the final, which the All Blacks lost 12-11 to South Africa.

Toulon

In June 2023 the Crusaders announced that he would join Toulon in the French Top 14 on an 18-month contract after the World Cup. He wanted, he said, to "throw myself in the deep end, be vulnerable and be challenged". Scott Robertson, then the Crusaders coach, called him an "important part of the team".

He played 39 games for Toulon, scoring 80 points, according to Wikipedia. France was also where his rugby began to change shape: he played centre, and, he said later, "I played a lot in the second half in the loose forwards."

Back in black

Faingaʻanuku came home for the 2025 New Zealand season and played the NPC for Tasman, scoring twice against Manawatu. In September Robertson, now the All Blacks coach, called him into the squad as injury cover, and on 4 October 2025 he started on the left wing against Australia in Perth, his first Test since the World Cup, in a 28-14 win.

On the end-of-year tour he played all four Tests. Against Ireland in Chicago he came off the bench at centre after Jordie Barrett was injured, and his offload sent Will Jordan away for a try by Ardie Savea a phase later. He started at centre at Murrayfield, where his ability to hold the defence and stand in the tackle set up Damian McKenzie's try in a 25-17 win. When Caleb Clarke was injured, Robertson moved him back to the left wing for England. "He's playing good footy, so it's his spot," Robertson said. He scored at Twickenham, though England won 33-19, and came off the bench in the 52-26 win over Wales in Cardiff.

The hybrid

Faingaʻanuku rejoined the Crusaders for 2026, and coach Rob Penney gave him the chance he had been asking for. In April, for the club's first game at the new One NZ Stadium in Christchurch, Penney started him at openside flanker against the Waratahs. "Leicester has been keen to explore that opportunity more and more," Penney said. "He loves the limelight and wants to be part of it." Faingaʻanuku's view: "It's a bit more fun in the forwards." He scored from close range in a 35-20 win.

He stayed at No 7 for the rest of the season, including a 52-31 play-off win over the Blues and the semi-final against the Chiefs in Hamilton on 12 June. Before half-time that night he fractured his fibula and suffered a high ankle sprain, and the Chiefs won 49-12. He was named in the back row of the Super Rugby Pacific Team of the Year, but the injury ruled him out of Dave Rennie's first All Blacks squads, for the July Tests and the tour of South Africa.

He returned for Tasman against Bay of Plenty in September, but his NPC season ended early with a concussion. On 27 October Rennie named him in the 36 for the northern tour, as a loose forward. A day later the Crusaders named him in their 2027 squad as a midfielder.

"A hybrid is definitely the title," he told RNZ before the squad left. "I don't really see myself as a midfielder or a loosie." Rennie, who admitted the comeback had given him "less (playing time) than we would have liked", put it simply: "It gives you massive flexibility."

Style and standing

At 1.88m and 109kg, Faingaʻanuku has always been a big back. Patrick McKendry of 1News called him "a revelation in the No.7 jersey" for the Crusaders in 2026, and during the 2025 tour 1News described his offloading as "a revelation" for the All Blacks. His Test record reads 12 Tests, nine starts (eight on the left wing and one at centre), six tries and nine wins.

In 2021 he said the black jersey had never been a fire burning in his stomach. In October 2026 he described it differently: "It almost gives you superpowers and allows you to do your thing."

Where he is now

Faingaʻanuku is with the All Blacks in Edinburgh but was not named in the 23 for Scotland. RNZ expects him to come into contention for Wales in Cardiff on Sunday 15 November (NZ time), with England and the Nations Championship finals weekend to follow. He is in the Crusaders' squad for 2027, a World Cup year.

Career at a glance

Test figures are from RUGBE's match-by-match All Blacks data to 17 October 2026.